Zviad Gamsakhurdia - the first President of Georgia

Zviad Gamsakhurdia - the first President of Georgia

by Dr. Levari Z. Urushadze (Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia)
levzur@mail2scientist.com

Dr. Zviad Gamsakhurdia

Dr. Zviad K. Gamsakhurdia (March 31, 1939 - December 31, 1993) was a dissident, scientist and
writer, the first democratically elected President of the Republic of Georgia.

Zviad Gamsakhurdia was born in the Georgian capital Tbilisi in 1939. His father, Konstantine
Gamsakhurdia (1893-1975), was one of the greatest Georgian writers of the 20th century.

In 1962 Zviad Gamsakhurdia graduated from the Tbilisi State University.

1955-1986

[n 1955, Zviad Gamsakhurdia established a youth, pro-independence underground group which he
called the " Gorgasliani" which sought to circulate reports of human rights abuses. In 1956, he was
arrested during demonstrations in Tblisi against the Soviet policy of "Russification" and was arrested
again in 1958 for distributing anti-communist literature and proclamations.

Dr. Gamsakhurdia co-founded the Initiative Group for the Defence of Human Rights in 1973, became
the first Georgian member of Amnesty International in 1974 and founded the Georgian Helsinki Group
in 1976 (renamed the Georgian Helsinki Union in 1989). Gamsakhurdia was Chairman of this Human
Rights organization. He was very active in the underground network of samizdat publishers, contributing
to a wide variety of underground political periodicals including Okros Satsmisi ("The Golden Fleece"),
Sakartvelos Moambe ("The Georgian Herald"), Sakartvelo ("Georgia"), Matiane ("Annals") and Vestnik
Gruzii. He participated in the Moscow underground periodical "The Chronicle of Current Events",
edited by Sergey Kovalev. Gamsakhurdia was also the first Georgian member of the International
Society for Human Rights (ISHR-IGFM).

Zviad Gamsakhurdia pursued a distinguished academic career. He was a Research Fellow (1970-1973)
and Senior Research Fellow (1973-1977, 1985-1990) of the Institute of Georgian Literature of the
Georgian Academy of Sciences, Lecturer (1963-1973) and Associate Professor (1973-1975, 1985-1990)
of the Tbilisi State University (TSU) and member of the Union of Georgia's Writers (1966-1977, 1985-
1991), PhD in Philology (1973) and Doctor of Sciences (Full Doctor, Honoris Causa, 1991). He wrote
and published a number of important literary works translations of British, French and American
literature, including translations of works by T. S. Elliott, William Shakespeare and Charles Baudelaire.
Dr. Gamsakhurdia was author of 50 important scientific-research works (among them 5 monographs).
He was an outstanding Rustvelologist (Shota Rustaveli was a great Georgian poet of the 12th century)
and researcher of history of the Iberian-Caucasian culture and history of the Georgian Orthodox and
Apostolic Church.

Although he was frequently harassed and occasionally arrested for his dissidence, for a long time
Gamsakhurdia avoided serious punishment, probably as a result of his family's prestige and political
connections. His luck ran out in 1977 when the activities of the Helsinki groups in the Soviet Union
became a serious embarrassment to the Soviet government of Leonid Breznev. A nationwide crackdown
on human rights activists was instigated across the Soviet Union. In Georgia, the government of Eduard
Shevardnadze (who was then First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party) arrested Gamsakhurdia
and his fellow dissident Merab Kostava. The two men were sentenced to three years' hard labour plus
three years' exile for "anti-Soviet activities". Their imprisonment attracted international attention,
leading to members of the United States Congress nominating Gamsakhurdia for the Nobel Peace Prize
in 1978. Kostava was sent to Siberia, while Gamsakhurdia was sent to the Russian autonomous republic
of Dagestan.

At the end of June 1979, Gamsakhurdia was released from jail and pardoned in controversial
circumstances after serving only two years of his sentence (Kostava remained in prison until 1987). The
authorities claimed that he had confessed to the charges and recanted his beliefs; a film clip was shown
on Soviet television to substantiate their claim. His supporters, family and Merab Kostava claimed that
his recantation was coerced by the KGB, and although he publicly acknowledged that certain aspects of
his anti-Soviet endeavors were mistaken, he did not renounce his leadership of the dissident movement
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in Georgia. Perhaps more importantly, his actions ensured that the dissident leadership could remain
active. Kostava and Gamsakhurdia later both independently stated that the latter's recantation had been a
tactical move. In an open letter to Shevardnadze, dated April 19, 1992, Gamsakhurdia claimed that "my
so-called confession was necessitated ... [because] if there was no 'confession' and my release from the
prison in 1979 would not have taken place, then there would not have been a rise of the national
movement." [1]

Gamsakhurdia returned to dissident activities soon after his release, continuing to contribute to samizdat
periodicals and campaigning for the release of Merab Kostava. In 1981 he became the spokesman of the
students and others who protested in Tbilisi about the threats to Georgian identity and the Georgian
cultural heritage. He handed a set of "Demands of the Georgian People" to Shevardnadze outside the
Congress of the Georgian Writers Union at the end of March 1981, which earned him another spell in
jail.

Zviad Gamsakhurdia - President

Dr. Gamsakhurdia played a key role in organising mass pro-independence rallies held in Georgia
between 1987-1990, in which he was joined by Merab Kostava on the latter's release in 1987. In 1988,
Gamsakurdia became one of the founders of the Society of Saint Ilia the Righteous, a political
organization which became the basis for his own political movement. The following year, the brutal
suppression by Soviet forces of a large peaceful demonstration held in Tbilisi in April 4-9, 1989 proved
to be a pivotal event in discrediting the continuation of Soviet rule over the country. The democratic and
peaceful anti-Soviet, pro-independence political movement was accelerated and led to Georgia's first
democratic multiparty elections, held on October 28, 1990. Gamsakhurdia's Society of Saint Ilia the
Righteous and the Georgian Helsinki Union joined with other opposition groups to head a reformist
coalition called "Round Table - Free Georgia" ("Mrgvali Magida - Tavisupali Sakartvelo"). The
coalition won a convincing victory, with 64% of the vote, as compared with the Georgian Communist
Party's 29.6%. On November 14, 1990, Zviad Gamsakhurdia was elected by an overwhelming majority
as Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia (Parliament).

Georgia held a referendum on restoring its pre-Soviet independence on March 31, 1991 in which

90.08% of those who voted declared in its favour. The Georgian parliament passed a declaration of
independence on April 9, 1991, in effect restoring the 1918-21 Georgian state. However, it was not
recognised by the Soviet Union and although a number of foreign powers granted early recogition,
universal recognition did not come until the following year. Gamsakhurdia was elected President in the
election of May 26 with 86.5% per cent of the vote on a turnout of over 83%.

On taking office, Gamsakhurdia was faced with major economic and political difficulties, especially
regarding Georgia's relations with the Soviet Union. Before Georgia's independence, the position of
national minorities (about 30% of the population of Georgia) was contentious and led to outbreaks of
serious inter-ethnic violence in Abkhazia during 1989. It was widely believed by local and foreign
observers that forces in Moscow were deliberately exploiting ethnic tensions to undermine the
independence of the former Soviet republics.

In 1989, violent unrest broke out in so-called 'South Ossetia' (Shida Kartly region of Eastern Georgia)
between the indigenous Georgian population of the Autonomous District and Ossetian separatists
demanding that their region be unified with North Ossetia (part of Russia). South Ossetia's government
announced that the region would secede from Georgia and unite with their counterparts in the Russian
Federation. In response, the Supreme Soviet of the Georgian SSR annulled the autonomy of South
Ossetia in March, 1990. A three-way power struggle between Georgian, Ossetian and Soviet military
forces broke out in the region, which resulted (by March 1991) in the deaths of 51 people and the
eviction from their homes of 25,000 more. After his election as Chairman of the newly renamed
Supreme Council, Gamsakhurdia denounced the Ossetian move as being part of a Russian ploy to
undermine Georgia, declaring the Ossetian separatists to be "direct agents of the Kremlin, its tools and
terrorists." In February 1991, he sent a letter to Mikhail Gorbachev demanding the withdrawal of Soviet
army units and an additional contigent of interior troops of the USSR from the territory of former
Authonomous District of South Ossetia.

By the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia were adopted many important, democratic Legal
Acts. The country had already been granted recognition by many countries (including Romania, Turkey,
Canada, Finland, Ukraine, Lithuania and others) but recognition by major countries eventually came
during Christmas 1991, when the USA, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Pakistan, India and

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others formally recognized Georgian independence.

Many organizations abroad criticized authority of Dr. Gamsakhurdia for violation of Human Rights but,
unfortunately, they did not foresee the heaviest legacy of the Soviet totalitarian system. It must foresee
also that the former Communist part-nomenclature and so-called "red inteligentsia" furiously struggled
for return of the loss position and revange.

Coup d'etat

On December 22, 1991, armed opposition supporters launched a violent military coup d'etat and
attacked a number of official buildings including the Georgian parliament building, where
Gamsakhurdia himself was sheltering. Heavy fighting continued in Tblisi until January 6, 1992, leaving
at least 113 people dead. On January 6, Gamsakhurdia and members of his government escaped through
opposition lines and made their way to the Chechen Republic, where they were given asylum by the
government of President Jokhar Dudaev.

It was later claimed that Soviet forces had been involved in the coup against Gamsakhurdia. On
December 15, 1992 the Russian newspaper Moskovskie Novosti ("Moscow News") printed a letter
claiming that the former Vice-Commander of the Trans-Caucasian Military District, Colonel General
Sufian Bepaev, had sent a "subdivision" to assist the armed opposition. If the intervention had not taken
place, it was claimed, "Gamsakhurdia's supporters' victory would be guaranteed." It was also claimed
that Soviet special forces had helped the opposition to attack the state television tower on December 28.

A Military Council made up of Gamsakhurdia opponents took over the government on an interim basis.
One of its first actions was to formally depose Gamsakhurdia as President. It reconstituted itself as a
State Council and appointed Gamsakhurdia's old rival Eduard Shevardnadze as chairman in March 1992.

Gamsakhurdia in exile

After coup d'etat, Gamsakhurdia continued to promote himself as the legitimate president of Georgia. He
was still recognized as such by some governments and international organizations. Gamsakhurdia
himself refused to accept his ouster, not least because he had been elected to the post with an
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overwhelming majority of the popular vote (in conspicuous contrast to the undemocratically appointed
Shevardnadze). In November-December 1992, he was invited to Finland (by the Georgia Friendship
Group of the Parliament of Finland) and Austria (by the International Society for Human Rights). In
both countries, he held press conferences and meetings with parliamentarians and government officials
(Georgian newspaper " Iberia- Spektri", Tbilisi, December 15-21, 1992).

Shevardnadze's government imposed a harshly repressive regime throughout Georgia to suppress
"Zviadism", with security forces and the pro- government Mhekdroini para-military group carrying out
widespread arrests and harassment of Gamsakhurdia supporters. Although Georgia's very poor Human
Rights record was strongly criticised by the international community. Government troops moved into
Abkhazia in September 1992 in an effort to root out Gamsakhurdia's supporters among the Georgian
population of the region, but well-publicised Human Rights abuses succeeded only in worsening already
poor ethnic relations. Later, in September 1993, a full-scale war broke out between Georgian forces and
Abkhazian separatists. This ended in a decisive defeat for the government, with government forces and
300,000 Georgians being driven out of Abkhazia and an estimated 10,000 people being killed in the
fighting.

September 24 - December 31, 1993

Gamsakhurdia soon took up the apparent opportunity to bring down Shevardnadze. He returned to
Georgia on September 24, 1993, establishing what amounted to a legal Government and Parliament
(Supreme Council) in exile in the western Georgian city of Zugdidi. He announced that he would
continue "the peaceful struggle against an illegal military junta" and concentrated on building an anti-
Shevardnadze coalition drawing on the support of the regions of Samegrelo and Abkhazia. He also built
up a substantial military force that was able to operate relatively freely in the face of the weak state
security forces. After initially demanding immediate elections, Gamsakhurdia took advantage of the
Georgian army's rout to seize large quantities of weapons abandoned by the retreating government
forces. A civil war engulfed western Georgia in October 1993 as Gamsakhurdia's forces succeeded in
capturing several key towns and transport hubs. Government forces fell back in disarray, leaving few
obstacles between Gamsakhurdia's forces and Tblisi.
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However, Gamsakhurdia's capture of the economically vital Georgian Black Sea port of Poti threatened
the interests of Russia. In an apparent and very controversial quid pro quo, Russia expressed their
support for Shevardnadze's government, which in turn agreed to join the Commonwealth of Independent
States. Russia quickly mobilised troops to aid the Georgian government. On October 20, around 2,000
Russian troops moved to protect Georgian railroads and provided logistical support and weapons to the
poorly armed government forces. The uprising quickly collapsed and Zugdidi fell on November 6.

Zviad Gamsakhurdia's death

On December 31, 1993, Zviad Gamsakhurdia died in circumstances that were (and still are) very
unclear. He died in the village of Jikhashkari in the Samegrelo region of Western Georgia (Official
obituary signed by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of Georgia in exile, Russian newspaper
"Ichkeria", Grozny, February 23, 1994).

Gamsakhurdia's death was announced by the Shevardnadze's government on January 5, 1994.
Gamsakhurdia's body was recovered on February 15, 1994.

Zviad Gamsakhurdia's remains were re-buried in the Chechen capital Grozny on February 24, 1994.

Zviad Gamsakhurdia's legacy

On January 26, 2004, in a ceremony held at the Kashueti Church of Saint George in Tbilisi, the newly
elected President of the Republic of Georgia, Dr. Mikheil Saakashvili officially rehabilitated Zviad
Gamsakhurdia to resolve the lingering political effects of his overthrow in an effort to "put an end to
disunity in our society", as Saakashvili put it. He praised Gamsakhurdia's role as a "great statesman and
patriot" and promulgated a degree granting permission for Gamsakhurdia's body to be reburied in the
Georgian capital. He also renamed a major road in Tbilisi after Zviad Gamsakhurdia and released 32
supporters of the first President imprisoned by Shevardnadze's government in 1993-1994, who were
regarded by some international Human Rights organisations (Amnesty International, International
Society for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, etc.) as being political prisoners.
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Gamsakhurdia's supporters continue to promote his ideas through a number of public societies. In 1996,
a public, cultural and educational non-governmental organisation called the Zviad Gamsakhurdia
Society in the Netherlands was founded in the Dutch city Den Bisch.

Some important works of Zviad Gamsakhurdia

"20th century American Poetry" (a monograph). Publishing House "Ganatleba", Tbilisi, 1972,

150 pp. (In Georgian, English summary).

The Man in the Panther's Skin" in English" (a monograph). Publishing House "Metsniereba",

Tbilisi, 1984, 222 pp. (In Georgian, English summary).

"Goethe's Weltanschauung from the Anthroposophic point of view."- J. "Tsiskari", Tbilisi, No 5,

1985 (In Georgian).

"Tropology (Image Language) of "The Man in the Panther's Skin"" (a monograph). Publishing

House "Metsniereba", Tbilisi, 1991, 354 pp. (In Georgian, English summary).

"Collected articles and Essays". Publishing House "Khelovneba", Tbilisi, 1991, 574 pp. (In

Georgian).

"The Spiritual mission of Georgia" (1990)

"The Spiritual Ideals of the Gelati Academy" (1989)

"Dilemma for Humanity."- "Nezavisimaia Gazeta", Moscow, May 21, 1992 (In Russian).

"Between deserts" (about the creative works of L.N. Tolstoy).- "Literaturnaia Gazeta", Moscow,

No 15, 1993 (In Russian).

"Fables and Tales". Publishing House "Nakaduli", Tbilisi, 1987 (In Georgian).

"The Betrothal of the Moon" (Poems). Publishing House "Merani", Tbilisi, 1989 (In Georgian).

Links and literature

• President Zviad Gamsakhurdia's Memorial Page

• Reports of the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR-IGFM)

• Reports of the International Helsinki Federation (IHF)

• Reports of the British Helsinki Human Rights Group (BHHRG)

• SHAVLEGO

• "The Lion in Winter - My Friend Zviad Gamsakhurdia" by Todor Todorev

• IACERHRG - The Zviad Gamsakhurdia Memorial Diploma of Merit

• Zviad Gamsakhurdia. "Open Letter to E. Shevardnadze"

• Zviad Gamsakhurdia. "The Nomenklatura Revanche in Georgia"

"Soviets Release Penitent Dissident" - Washington Post, June 30, 1979

"Russia Curier", Paris, September, 1991 (In Russian).

Aila Niinimaa-Keppo. "Shevardnadzen valhe" ("The Lie of Shevardnadze"), Helsinki, 1992 (In

Finnish).

Johan Michael Ginther, "About the Putch in Georgia" - Der Presse Spiegel (Germany), No 14,

1992 (in German).

"Repression Follows Putsch in Georgia!" - "Human Rights Worldwide", Frankfurt/M., No 2

(Vol. 2), 1992.

"Purges, tortures, arson, murders..." - Iltalehti (Finland), April 2, 1992 (in Finnish).

"Entinen Neuvostoliito". Edited by Antero Leitzinger. Publishing House "Painosampo", Helsinki,

1992, pp. 114-115 (In Finnish). ISBN 952-9752-00-8.

"Moskovskie Novosti" ("The Moscow News"), December 15, 1992.

"Iberia-Spektri", Tbilisi, December 15-21, 1992 (In Georgian).

J. "Soviet Analyst". Vol. 21, No: 9-10, London, 1993, pp. 15-31.

Otto von Habsburg.- ABC (Spain). November 24, 1993.

Robert W. Lee. "Dubious Reforms in Former USSR".- The New American, Vol. 9, No 2, 1993.

"Gushagi" (Journal of Georgian political emigres in Georgian and English), Paris, No 1/31, 1994.

ISSN 0763-7247.

Mark Almond. "The West Underwrites Russian Imperialism" - The Wall Street Journal,

European Edition, February 7, 1994.

"Zviad Gamsakhurdia" (Obituary signed by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of Georgia in

exile).- Russian newspaper "Ichkeria", Grozny, February 23, 1994

"Schwer verletzte Menshenrechte in Georgien" - Neue Z*rcher Zeitung. August 19, 1994.

"Intrigue Marks Alleged Death Of Georgia's Deposed Leader" - Wall Street Journal. Jan 6, 1994

"Ousted Georgia Leader a Suicide, His Wife Says" - Los Angeles Times. Jan 6, 1994

"Swiad Gamsachurdia: Dissident- Prasident-martyrer", Perseus Verlag, Basel, 1995 (in German),

150 pp. ISBN 3-907564-19-7.

"CAUCASUS and unholy alliance." Edited by Antero Leitzinger. ISBN 952-9752-16-4.

Publishing House "Kirja-Leitzinger" (Leitzinger Books), Vantaa (Finland), 1997, 348 pp.

"GEORGIE - 1997" (Report of the Netherlands Helsinki Union/NHU), s-Hertogenbosch (The

Netherlands), 1997, 64 pp. (In Dutch).

"Insider Report" - The New American, Vol. 13, No 4, 1997.

Levan Urushadze. "The role of Russia in the Ethnic Conflicts in the Caucasus."- CAUCASUS:

War and Peace. Edited by Mehmet Tutuncu, Haarlem (The Netherlands), 1998, 224 pp. ISBN 90-

9011125-5.

"Insider Report" - The New American, Vol. 15, No 20, 1999.

"Gushagi", Paris, No 2/32, 1999. ISSN 0763-7247.

Levan Urushadze. "About the history of Russian policy in the Caucasus."- IACERHRG's

Yearbook - 2000, Tbilisi, 2001, pp. 64-73 (In English).

"The Georgian Velvet Revolution (Sort of)" by Andreas Hernandez (November 30, 2003)

"Saakashvili Moves to Unify Georgians", The Moscow Times, Moscow. Jan 27, 2004

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